Justin Hein

Forged in the fires of Jacques Lemaire ’s defense-first philosophy, the Minnesota Wild spent nearly two decades with a well-earned reputation for stingy defense. They also had an even better-earned reputation for being boring. Since Kirill Kaprizov arrived in 2020, they’ve bucked that trend to a degree, ranking 9th in goals per game in 2020-21 and 5th in 2021-22.

As we close in on the Stanley Cup Finals, fans often create roster-building blueprints for the teams that don’t make the postseason. Fans and media optimistically project each team’s prospects and future cap space until they turn it into a similar version of one of the Cup contenders.

The NHL draft is only two weeks away, and it’s time to start thinking about draft moves. Where do the Minnesota Wild want to pick, and how much can they reasonably move around the board?

Today, draft season turns into draft day, and it’s becoming clearer which prospects each team has a chance to draft. Every team keeps its plans secret. Still, it’s ultimately the same strategy: They want to leave the draft with the best players they can pick.

Jake Middleton has established himself as one of the Minnesota Wild’s most likable players. His toothless grin, bombastic mustache, and blue-collar upbringing call to mind memories of a bygone era of hard-nosed hockey. He’s charismatic on camera and endeared himself further to the entire State of Hockey with a dig at Edina in a feature in The Athletic.

Late July is slow in the NHL media cycle. It’s as nice outside as it gets all year. Fans, reporters, and bloggers all have better things to do than read and write about which GMs are more or less mediocre than the others.

The Minnesota Wild just made a major investment in their future. In the most expensive move of his offseason, Bill Guerin signed defenseman Brock Faber to an eight-year, $8.5 million per year contract. And they signed it a year before Faber’s current deal expired.

The ink has dried on Brock Faber ’s contract, as well as the dozens of articles and blog posts, which all seem to agree.

Riley Heidt is the Minnesota Wild’s most polarizing prospect.

The Minnesota Wild’s second-round pick in 2023 is taking a major leap this year, his first in professional hockey. This year, he’s graduated to the Liiga, Finland’s top hockey league, where he will play with and against grown men.